Far-left zealotry and selfless heroism are mutually exclusive ideals; the notion of a "woke superhero" is simply not believable on a fundamental and subconscious level. This is just one reason why so many comic book, fantasy and sci-fi entertainment properties have collapsed in recent years, leading to a corporate bloodbath in Hollywood and beyond.
The bottom line? Woke has no place in media. For every "successful" woke property, for every leftist movie or TV show that actually makes a profit, there are a hundred failures. It's not a sustainable model, but the leftists running Hollywood insist on it because they care more about their political narrative than telling good stories with endearing characters.
Director and producer James Gunn represents the last gasp of the woke tent-pole movie takeover. His ascendance to the head of the Warner Brothers DC division was greeted with mixed reactions.
Some people thought he might do a good job based on some of his previously successful franchises (Guardians Of The Galaxy).
Others knew that Gunn is, at his core, a left-wing knob.
And the skeptics were proven right. Gunn jumped into his role with a woke Superman movie featuring commentaries on immigration and American nationalism. The flick was supposed to revitalize the dying DC brand but it ended up losing around $42 million dollars after advertising costs at the box office. It was an utter disaster and it proved that even Gunn, with his built-in fan base, could not sell wokeness to the masses.
Gunn then doubled down with his girl-boss, feminist pandering version of Supergirl, which lost even more money ($120 million with advertising costs included). The media and the movie's lead actress didn't help, with constant peddling of LGBT and feminist themes in interviews.
Finally, there was "Lanterns" (a play on the Green Lantern comic book series), a streaming show on HBO which was a dismal disaster. The show has become infamous as DEI fanfiction, written by woke activists with an open hatred of the white protagonist. They used the comic book to play out a fantasy of humiliating and then replacing a popular white hero with a new and "better" black protagonist.
HBO claims strong viewership numbers (the Nielsons show moderate but not great audience results). However, if the show was truly attracting an audience, then the series would have immediately been approved for a second season.
Currently, it looks like this isn't going to happen. Not only that, but James Gunn has been fired from DC.
David Ellison (CEO of Skydance) and the new Skydance leadership team are cleaning house following the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger. Gunn was a clear choice to be booted from production. He remains attached to direct a Superman sequel into 2027 (likely a diplomatic move by Skydance to help Gunn save face), though this movie was already into post-production by the time he was fired.
Anyone looking for insight into the far-left atmosphere that Gunn fostered at the helm of DC should listen to the bizarre comments made by his official DC "podcaster bros" over criticism of the Lanterns series - These people are unhinged.
This guy will probably be looking for new employment after 2027 as his meal ticket (Gunn) fades out of the DC universe forever. Proving once again that the vast majority of Americans (and people around the world) have no interest in woke politics infesting their entertainment.
In a fascinating twist, James Gunn and Peter Safran are stepping down as co-CEOs of DC Studios and being replaced by Jeremy Latcham, a highly successful former Marvel producer who is openly Christian and has worked on faith-oriented projects. The media has been losing their minds over the symbolism of the replacement. Get Woke, Go Broke prevails yet again.